Radiator Recore Cost

azblackhemi

Old Man with a Hat
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Has anyone had a radiator recored lately? They want almost $500 to do the one in my 66 New Yorker. Is that reasonable or are they trying to stick it to me?
 
That is the going rate as I understand it. The only way to tell is compare in your area. Make sure to compare apples to apples.
 
OK thanks guys. I can't remember the last time I did one so it's just a bit of sticker shock I guess.
 
Sad to say that is the going rate.
The cost of the brass and copper are through the roof.
Vandals are ripping out all the copper wire out of houses that are either still under construction or abandoned to cash in big time.
 
Last one I had done was just under $500 iirc..
 
Spectra replacement, $268. Even less if you go aftermarket aluminum. And now we know why people just R&R. The $200-$400 saved is worth the headache.
 
Has anyone had a radiator recored lately? They want almost $500 to do the one in my 66 New Yorker. Is that reasonable or are they trying to stick it to me?



My bill from last week ...

But that hasn't changed much from 13 years ago when I did the last one.
20200422_105322.jpg
 
Exactly why I bought that nice used one from Mr Matt. $40 to dunk it & $45 to move the top filler neck. All in about 50% less money than recoring my little POS radiator. It’s kinda funny but look at the cost of a heater core THEN that radiator recore job looks like a bargain. Time marches on...
 
Exactly why I bought that nice used one from Mr Matt. $40 to dunk it & $45 to move the top filler neck. All in about 50% less money than recoring my little POS radiator. It’s kinda funny but look at the cost of a heater core THEN that radiator recore job looks like a bargain. Time marches on...
That's great that worked out for you. I thought about going the used route but don't want to take a chance on a 50 plus year old radiator being up to the challenge of driving in the Phoenix summer heat. Just going to bite the bullet and pony up the 5 bills.
 
Wow! The last one I had done was 20 years ago. Can't recall the cost but I know it was nowhere near that.
 
Current cost on a replacement core is about $390 plus the labor to put it together. That price is not out of line.

Dave
 
I get radiators recored on a regular basis lately, Chris, and I always opt for the high efficiency cores that have maximum fin density just because I also have to deal with Los Angeles temperatures while I have my a/c on, and want my coolant to stay below 210F under the worst traffic conditions on our freeways where there are plenty of just stop and go periods for many miles.

Dave's bill above represents a high efficiency core for a 22" radiator for a non-a/c car and I have found that lately I am approaching $600 for a 26" wide a/c radiator with 3 rows of tubes (my radiator guy believes that going to 4 row cores is not a plus unless your car overheats on freeway cruising which is never the case for me at least and just adds more mass to cool down in traffic that would actually be a minus). Actually the cost of the recore for me hasn't changed all that much from say 8 - 10 years ago since I can't recall ever paying less than $500 for any high efficiency recore job, which mimics what Dave is also saying.

By recoring your own radiator you can also maintain your original toptank in most cases, which is a requirement for any radiator I have redone for one of my cars.

I personally would want nothing to do with an aftermarket radiator such as Spectra Premium for example as listed above - out here in the southwest they are just worthless and have lousy fin density which is vital to cooling efficiency. Overheating will be guaranteed. You get what you pay for especially in the case of radiators.

Chrysler never designed in enough cooling efficiency for hot weather such as ours when new - I saw the data at the Chrysler Chelsea proving gounds back in 1970 and it was poor and they knew it but saving money was king so they stretched the margins. That is why Imperials at least got the 28" radiators even though they are much the same cars, especially in traffic conditions (radiator width is important for low speed cooling - more the better and radiator depth - no. of tubes is important for higher speed cruising).

My advice is pay the money and you will not regret it.

The only reason to go to Glen Ray is to get a really competent job done but the surcharge is hardly worth it given the radiator guy I currently have. I have one of the Glen Ray versions in one of my 71 300s (photo below). It looks great but cools the same.

2019-05-26 00.15.03.jpg
 
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I paid $500CDN from one of my regular vendors to do my 66 300 rad upgraded to a 4 core. Wish I knew you needed one Chris as I never installed it but it was a non ac car so not sure if outlets would be the same...
 
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